Bedtime Legends
by hijackeddandelion
Summary: My blood immediately runs cold in my veins. Willow is only six. Are they already teaching them about the Hunger Games at such a young age? This is a topic I was not prepared to have to discuss with my children so soon. This is a topic I hoped I would never have to discuss with them ever.


**A/N: I present to you a short Everlark one-shot featuring the toast babies! Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. All rights belong to Suzanne Collins. **

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I watch Willow as she runs down the stairs in her pajamas, her hair still slightly damp from her bath. I follow slowly behind here as I drag my feet in a tired state. I turn the corner into the kitchen and find Peeta at the sink washing the dishes. Willow now sits at the counter as she snacks on a cookie while our toddler sits on the floor playing with an open bag of flour. I let out a very long, very loud and exhausted sigh.

Peeta turns and looks at me. "What's wrong?"

I give him a scowl and simply point my finger in the direction of our flour-covered son. Peeta looks to the floor and his eyes grow wide at the mess but he eventually begins to laugh.

"Peeta." I say in irritation. "This isn't funny."

"Sorry, Katniss." He says as his laughter subsides. He bends down and takes Rye into his arms and starts wiping his face clean with a wet cloth. "I forgot I left the bag there while I was baking the cheese buns this morning."

"Well, that's just great." I complain as I throw my hands in the air "I already bathed and changed him for the night but now I have to do it again."

Peeta notices the unusual tone of annoyance in my voice and looks at me with concern. He puts Rye back down on the floor and approaches me. He places both his hands on my shoulders and gently rubs up and down on my arms as he carefully inspects me.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." I apologize in embarrassment. "I'm just exhausted. We got back late last night from our trip to see Annie but I still had to get up early this morning to hunt. Then Effie showed up for a surprise visit so I was busy cooking and trying to keep her occupied while you were at the bakery. Oh, and Willow and Rye thought it'd be funny to play with Haymitch's geese so I've been cleaning up feathers all day."

Peeta gives me a gentle smile and kisses me softly on the forehead. "I'm sorry it's been a hard day for you. Let's make a deal. I'll finish cleaning the kitchen, including the flour on the floor, then I'll bath and change Rye and put him and Willow to bed for you, okay?"

"Okay." I say feeling more relaxed at his reassuring tone.

He pulls me into a comforting hug and I rest my head against his chest. Peeta always knows how to calm me. Without him, I would've gone crazy years ago.

Just then, he leans down and whispers in my ear. "When I'm done with them, I'll put you to bed too."

A smile spreads across my face. I look up to find him staring down at me with a crooked smile plastered on his own face. He knows I can't resist that smile. I cup his cheek with my hand and bring his face to mine as I place a long kiss on his lips.

"My eyes!" Willow cries. "Rye look away!"

Peeta and I break apart as we burst out in a fit of laughter. We look to Willow who is still sitting at the counter but has placed her hands over her eyes.

I turn to Peeta. "I'll put her to bed so I can have you sooner." I entice as I run my hand through his curly locks.

"Deal." He quickly agrees. He gives me one more kiss and rushes back to the sink to finish the dishes.

I smile to myself. "Come on, Willow. Bed time."

"Is it safe?"

"Yes, you can look now."

She peers through her fingers until she sees me standing by myself. "Okay, mommy, let's go." She jumps off of her chair and grabs me by the hand as we make our way up the stairs.

I wrap the blankets around Willow as I tuck her into bed and place a loving kiss on her forehead. As I'm about to leave I turn on the nightlight by her bedside but she stops me before I can go.

"Can you tell me a story?" She asks innocently.

"Of course. What story do you want to hear?"

"The one about the Girl on Fire."

My blood immediately runs cold in my veins. Willow is only six. Are they already teaching them about the Hunger Games at such a young age? This is a topic I was not prepared to have to discuss with my children so soon. This is a topic I hoped I would never have to discuss with them ever.

"Where have you heard that story?" I slowly ask.

"Daddy tells it to me every night. It's my favorite."

Peeta? Peeta's the one who's been telling her the story? But surely he hasn't told her all of the gruesome and grim details.

"And what has he told you?"

"It's about a girl who was so beautiful and fierce that the people described her as being as radiant as the sun, so they called her the Girl on Fire. She was a brave warrior who fought against an evil emperor using only her bow and arrow. Daddy said she shot a lightning arrow into the sky that ignited a revolution and changed the world. He also said she had a voice that was so majestic that when she sang even the birds stopped to listen."

I listen to Willow as a small smile forms across my face. Only Peeta could take our twisted reality and turn it into an inspiring bedtime story. How I wish the experience really was that simple and astonishing. But he left out one very important detail.

"Has your daddy told you the story about the Boy with the Bread?"

Willow sits up in her bed as her eyes lighten with excitement at the mention of a new story. Of course Peeta would brag about me without ever thinking twice about himself.

"No. Who is he?"

I make myself comfortable and sit on the edge of her bed. "He saved the Girl on Fire's life. Without him, she would've never been able to save her people."

"Daddy never told me that."

"It's true. It was during a dark and rainy day when the Girl on Fire had finally given up. She was tired and hungry and desperate but nobody would help her. Nobody except for the Boy with the Bread. He found her sitting beneath a tree, her clothes soaked to her body from the pouring rain. Unfortunately, a wicked witch prevented the boy from seeing the girl so instead he threw her a warm loaf of bread to eat. She graciously held the warm bread against her cold body and quickly ran home to feed it to her family. The bread from that boy gave the Girl on Fire the hope and strength she needed to continue fighting through life and whenever she felt lonely, she would pick a dandelion in the meadow to remember the Boy with the Bread."

"Did they ever see each other again?" She asks eagerly.

"They did." I say. "The Boy with the Bread helped the Girl on Fire defeat the evil emperor."

"No way." She says in disbelief. "The Girl on Fire is so strong she doesn't need anyone's help."

I give a weak smile as I push a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "I wish that were true. But The Girl on Fire's strength came from the Boy with the Bread. He believed in her, supported her, protected her, but most of all, he loved her."

"Did she love him?"

"She did but she didn't realize it until it was too late."

"What do you mean, mommy?"

My thoughts immediately flashback to the months I spent in the undergrounds of District 13. The most agonizing months of my life. The depression I went under not knowing if Peeta was dead or alive. My morbid wishing that wanted him dead instead of in Snow's custody. The sleepless nights that plagued me with endless nightmares. The tears that never seemed to stop flowing until he was safe with me. And even when he was rescued, my tears were then shed for an entirely new reason.

"Mommy?" The feel of Willow's small hand on top of mine snaps me out of my daze. I look at her and give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"The emperor took the boy from the girl. He kept him locked away and hidden in his large mansion. It wasn't until the Boy with the Bread was no longer with her that she realized she had fallen in love with him. That was when the Girl on Fire was at her weakest."

"What happened?"

I hesitate, realizing the next part involves Peeta's hijacking. I can soften up many of the details of this story but I can never sugarcoat something as excruciating and tormenting as that. Before I can answer, Peeta speaks up behind me.

"After many months, the boy was eventually rescued and freed from the mansion."

I turn to look at him. He's leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed in front of his chest. I can tell he's been standing there for awhile.

He continues. "But it was a long time before they could see each other. You see, the boy was very sick and had to stay away from the girl. They had to wait and endure through many difficult months and started giving up hope that they'd someday be reunited."

Without a second thought, I make my way off the bed and into Peeta's arms. He wraps them tightly around me as I bury my face in his chest. I take in his familiar scent of cinnamon and dill and let out a shaky breath. I hate being reminded of his hijacking although it is a nightmare I dream of often. Despite the years that have passed, I still fear that I will suddenly wake up in the hospital of District 13. That Peeta will still be in the custody of President Snow and be hijacked beyond repair. That he'll never find his way back to me and everything we have will just be one long, morphling-induced dream.

"That's so sad." Willow says thoughtfully. "Did they ever get a happy ending?"

I look to Peeta who has the same worried expression as me. If Willow finds the censored version of our story sad, how will she handle it when we finally tell her the truth? I let go of him and we both sit on either side of her and pull her into a hug. I let Peeta continue, too afraid that I'll start to cry.

"Of course they did. After being away for so long, the boy finally found his way back to the girl. It was a reunion filled with tears, hugs, and kisses. The girl asked the boy to stay with her and he promised her he always would. And when the boy asked if the girl loved him, she said her love for him was real. Eventually, the Boy with the Bread and the Girl on Fire made their love official and had a private toasting between just the two of them. When the people heard the news of their marriage they referred to them as the Star-Crossed Lovers, because it was like their fate was written amongst the stars. Although the odds weren't in their favor they were able to overcome them and found love and hope in each other."

When he's finished, Peeta and I sit in silence for a moment. I can't believe a story that expanded through several years was told in a matter of minutes. Eventually we stand up and I re-tuck Willow into her bed. We both give her a kiss on the cheek and then Peeta waits for me in the hall.

"Thank you for telling me this story, mommy. It's my new favorite." She says through a tired yawn. "Do you think the Girl on Fire and Boy with the Bread are looking down on me from the stars?"

"They're always looking after you, Willow. Even when you don't know they are." By now her eyes are shut and her face is content as sleep takes over her. "They love you. We love you." I whisper as I quietly close her bedroom door.

As I turn around I see Peeta doing the same with Rye's door. He takes my hand in his and we walk down the hall to our bedroom. The silence between us is deafening because I know what Peeta is thinking but I also know he won't be the one to bring up. He wants to try to spare me the unnerving anxiety that I'm already feeling. As soon as he closes the door, I begin to panic.

"What are we going to do?" I blurt. "What are we going to do when she gets older and realizes that her parents are the Girl on Fire and Boy with the Bread? What are we going to tell her?"

"Well, Caesar never referred to me as the Boy with the Bread so maybe she won't know it's me" He says trying to lighten the mood.

"Peeta!" I practically yell at him. "I'm sure she'll figure it out when she watches your interview and hears you say the girl you love is your district partner! Or when Caesar says your _name_! I'm not ready for this! I'm not ready to tell our children about the Hunger Games and President Snow and that I was the Mockingjay and you were hijacked!"

Peeta is by my side faster than I can blink and cups my face in his hands. "Look at me, Katniss. Look at me." My eyes listen to his steady words and quickly look into his own blue ones. "Relax. We still have several more years before either one of them begin learning about the games and when that time comes, _we'll _be the ones to tell them. They will know that their parents fought hard and valiantly to give them the future they now have. Everything we did was not to shed blood but to protect the ones we love. Will it be hard for us? Yes. Will it be hard for them? Yes. But we will go into this and get through it as one, just as we've always done."

I close my eyes and let out a long breath as I take in Peeta's words. I slowly digest each one and find comfort by the truth and confidence in them. His words have never failed me before and I will not start doubting them now. I rest my forehead against his as my nerves slowly dissipate with each passing second. I feel his lips as he presses them on the top of my head and pulls me into his embrace. My arms desperately clutch around him. He is truly my strength.

After some time, he grabs my hand and guides me into bed with him. I find my usual spot with my head against his chest and his arms wrapped protectively around me. He rubs small circles into my back and I can feel my body begin to relax by his gentle touch. Sleep finally hits as my eyes grow heavy and slowly begin to close. Before slumber can completely take over, I form one last thought.

"I love you, Boy with the Bread."

I can hear a smile in his voice. "I love you too, Girl on Fire."

And with that I let exhaustion consume me as I fall asleep to the lullaby of Peeta's heart.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please comment, favorite, or follow! **


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